ERC Proof of Concept Grant

The ERC Proof of Concept Grant is designed for Principal Investigators who have already received an ERC frontier research grant (Starting, Consolidator, Advanced or Synergy) and want to explore the commercial or societal potential of their work. The grant aims to facilitate exploration of the commercial and social innovation potential of ERC funded research by supporting activities that verify the innovation potential of ideas arising from ERC funded projects. The objective is to enable ERC-funded ideas to progress on the path from ground-breaking research towards innovation. Proof of Concept Grants support activities such as testing, experimenting, demonstrating and validating ideas; conducting research to address technical weaknesses; establishing viability and technical issues; clarifying intellectual property rights protection or knowledge transfer strategies; involving industrial partners, societal or cultural organizations, policymakers or other stakeholders; and assessing potential end users of the expected innovation. The grant provides EUR 150,000 as a lump sum for a period of 18 months, though most activities are expected to be completed within 12 months.